Kees Klein – The New Rabotnik (197): Jan Fabre & Rob Scholte in their first movie: “The Legs of Rob, a Refugee Drama”

Jan Fabre & Rob Scholte, two high-profile visual artists, the one Flemish Antwerp born, the other the Dutch Amsterdam born, join forces. In their recent status as excluded personae – non – grata they work together to purge their names as politically incorrect, associated with the #metoo and # blacklivesmatters movements.
Jan Fabre, a respected performer suggested Rob Scholte to use the opportunity that Mr. Jaques Laruelle gave them to show their common regret in making a new version of the movies “The hands of Orlac” (1934, 1935).
In this new version, the 1994 auto-car bomb-incident that cost Scholte his both legs, replace the train accident that destroyed the hands of the world famous pianist Paul Orlac. In Malcolm Lowry’s novel “Under the Volcano”, Mr. Jaques Laruelle , an ex-film producer, is obsessed by these films. Now he sees an opportunity to work out his obsession into a new film.
The place now is Venice. Both Fabre & Scholte had their finest hours here, in showing at the Venice Biennale. In the film and in an installation they show their respect to the people they have offended. Scholte regrets his remark about the “deviant” sexuality and skin color that is the official policy of the Amsterdam Stedelijk Museum; Jan Fabre regrets his machismo and dictatorial behaviour of the last 30 years in hun dance troupe Troubleyn, where “humiliation is daily bread in and around the rehearsal space”.
This new collaboration is in the context of Laruelle’s role in “Under the Volcano” and as observer of the posters of Peter Lorres’ role in the 1935 version of Orlac. Fabre & Scholte now work on a topical issue: the fate of the refugees in the Mediterranean Sea and Venice canals.